


Simple Things I Complicate

by thistidalwave



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-18
Updated: 2011-10-18
Packaged: 2017-10-24 18:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/266529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thistidalwave/pseuds/thistidalwave
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>So I'll blame gravity for always holding out on me. When I just want to run away, it trips me and I fall for you. Makes perfect sense to me.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Simple Things I Complicate

**Author's Note:**

> Title and summary from the lyrics to 'Gravity' by Soul Decision. Written because carapheonix and I bemoan (or bemoaned, back when this was actually written) the lack of Niff fanfiction. And because Macki is hilarious and very good at inspiration. It's her fault there are tears.

“Are you done that essay yet?” Jeff asks impatiently, pacing from bookshelf to bookshelf and back again in the library.

“Just about,” Nick replies, not looking up from his paper. “Sit down, you’re annoying the librarian.”

Jeff throws himself into the chair next to Nick. “I’m so bored.”

“Why are you bothering me about it?”

Jeff scowls. “Because you’re the only one who will willingly listen to me.”

“That’s true,” Nick concedes, pausing to look up at Jeff. “But usually you don’t care if they’re willing.”

“Yeah, well, my usual victims that aren’t you have all decided to break into impromptu song and dance in the cafeteria.”

Nick frowns. “Why aren’t you busting a move with them? It’s not like you to miss out on that.”

Jeff is quiet for a moment, looking down and tapping a restless finger against the wooden table. He sighs and looks back up at Nick. “I’m not in the mood.”

Nick knows better than to argue with the set of Jeff’s jaw line. He nods once and pushes his paper over to Jeff. “How do you think I should wrap this up?”

\---

 _CoD @ my house after glee?_ reads the note Nick passes to Jeff in the middle of European History later that day, using Kurt as his go between since they don’t sit next to each other.

Kurt hands it back to Nick a good five minutes later. The only word Jeff’s added is _Maybe_.

\---

Jeff isn’t at glee club practice. Wes asks Nick if he knows where he is. Nick doesn’t, but Kurt says he thinks Jeff asked to go to the nurse during math, the class after history that Nick isn’t in because he takes AP math earlier in the day.

Nick texts Jeff asking what’s up since he can’t pass tacky notes when they’re not in the same classroom. Jeff texts back saying he has a migraine, so he went home early. Nick offers to bring him whatever and tells him to feel better.

Jeff doesn’t text back.

\---

“I don’t know if chocolate is good for migraines, but I pretty much think chocolate solves everything, so I brought some,” Nick says when Jeff opens his front door the next evening. “Actually... I brought a lot.”

Jeff looks mildly amused. “This is rather drastic action,” he says, taking one of the plastic bags Nick is carrying from him. “Oooh, Hershey’s.”

“You’re acting drastically weird,” Nick counters, stepping into Jeff’s house. “Anyone else home?”

“No, my parents went out for date night. It’s just me and the quiet darkness.”

“Creepy. I’m assuming you don’t want to be assaulted by electronic light. Think we could light candles and conduct a séance? Could be fun.”

“Ghosts aren’t really my thing,” Jeff says, unwrapping the end of one of the chocolate bars and breaking a piece off.

“Well, past reading sonnets for English by candlelight, that was my only idea. What do you want to do?”

Jeff raises an eyebrow at him. “Let’s just go eat chocolate in my room.”

Nick follows Jeff upstairs to his room. It’s oddly clean—usually there are random dirty clothes and complete school assignments spread all over the floor, but for once Nick can see the carpet. “Been busy?” he asks as Jeff settles onto his bed and indicates that Nick should sit, too.

“Keeping myself occupied,” Jeff explains once Nick is sitting. “Here, I hope you were planning on eating some of this, too, because I _would_ eat it all myself, but then I’d also probably puke.”

Nick pulls a chocolate bar out of the bag and fiddles with the wrapper instead of opening it. Jeff watches Nick’s fingers, enraptured. Nick has nice fingers.

“Are you okay?” Nick asks. “And don’t just wave your hand at me and insist you’re fine, tell me what’s actually up.”

Jeff sighs and leans his head back against the wall. “Do you ever just get tired?”

Nick frowns. “Obviously... but I don’t think I’m getting what you’re trying to say.”

“Not like you just need to go to bed and recharge. Like you need to go to bed until the world goes away because you can’t take anymore. It sort of feels like there’s something squashing me.”

Nick opens his chocolate bar and stuffs a rather large piece in his mouth. He lets it melt in his mouth while he thinks about what Jeff is saying. By the time he swallows, he thinks he’s come up with an okay reply.

“I think it’s just stress.”

“Stress?” Jeff echoes.

“Mmhm,” Nick hums, suddenly feeling like an idiot. He shoves more chocolate into his mouth.

“Maybe,” Jeff allows. “But I kind of just want to sob like a baby. I’ve kind of wanted to since the day before yesterday.”

“So go ahead,” Nick says when he’s swallowed his second mouthful of chocolate. “Here’s my shoulder.”

Neither of them think they would have said anything like that if it hadn’t been for the fact that the room was only lit by the grey blue light of a sun that had just set, causing everything to cast ethereal shadows around the room. It’s not like they don’t have the kind of friendship where sometimes they talk about stuff that isn’t just video games or singing, because they do, but it’s also a friendship mostly based on mild insults and a mutual understanding of each other born from years of knowing each other.

Nick nudges Jeff’s leg with his foot when Jeff doesn’t move. It doesn’t provoke a reaction, so Nick digs his toes into Jeff’s leg harder. That makes Jeff jump away and smack at Nick’s arm. “Dude,” he mutters, a smile hidden just behind the word.

“Duuuuude,” Nick mimics.

Jeff smirks mostly to himself and lays his head against Nick’s shoulder. It’s not something he’s ever done before, but it somehow feels inherently _right_.

\---

Jeff is back at school on Monday. He harmonizes behind Thad’s impromptu lunchtime rendition of ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’ and makes annoyed faces behind Thad’s back when he immediately launches into a (no doubt rehearsed) spiel of all the reasons he _hearts_ Michael Buble after he’s finished singing.

“Can he just run away and have his illicit gay affair where I don’t have to hear about it?” Jeff mutters in Nick’s ear on their way to class after lunch. Nick trips over a garbage can.

\---

“Feeling better, Jeff?” Blaine asks at rehearsal.

“Much. Thanks, Blaine,” Jeff responds. Blaine accepts it as the truth, but Nick doesn’t, especially when Jeff misses the perfect opportunity to break into dance choreography that would shame them all.

\---

Jeff shows up at Nick’s door not an hour after school with tears threatening to spill over. When all Nick does is pull Jeff inside and hug him, they do.

“Maybe it’s stress,” he mutters into Nick’s blazer clad shoulder. “Maybe, but if it is, it’s stress caused by you, you little shit.”

“What did I ever do to you?”

Jeff snorts rather unattractively. “It’s more what you haven’t done, to be honest.”

Nick feels an irrational urge to offer that they play Call of Duty. He might have actually done it if he wasn’t afraid Jeff would punch him in the face. So, instead, he moves his head so that his forehead is pressed to Jeff’s. And then he takes the rational (is this really all that rational?) next step and kisses him.

Jeff’s hands clench, scrunching the fabric in the back of Nick’s blazer. He tastes like salt and chocolate and Jeff. Nick feels like he’s drowning in it.

“Do you feel better now?” he asks when they break apart.

“No, you jerk. You kissed me when I was _crying_ , what the hell, man?”

Nick is about to throw his hands up in surrender when Jeff kisses him again.


End file.
